Planting Trees to Fight Climate Change Starts With Small Farmers

Trees are an important tool to counter climate change: They capture carbon dioxide, improve biodiversity and increase groundwater. Adding a trillion trees could scrub out two-thirds of all emissions, according to scientists, and that’s why everyone from the World Economic Forum to YouTube influencers have launched large planting programs. There’s just one problem: The success rate of typical programs is often dismal. Many end up with no trees surviving to maturity.

After years of experiments, John Leary believes he has found the magic ingredient to boost results: local people.

Leary is the executive director of Trees for the Future (TFF), ...